


Loophole

by Misos



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: AU, Drama, Gen, huge spoilers obviously, rampant Korekiyo Shinguuji apologism, there is next to no shipping in this even if I accidentally make it look like that sometimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-08-19 11:55:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16534148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misos/pseuds/Misos
Summary: On that fateful night, Angie left her talent lab just a little bit later.





	1. Point of Divergence

**Author's Note:**

> You know the red herring about only the first murder counting? I'm still thinking about it. Making it happen while changing as little as possible winds up making the series of events incredibly contrived, but it's not Danganronpa if the cases aren't incredibly contrived.  
> Everyone who's alive at the beginning of the third trial is in this, but I only tagged the characters most impacted by the change and who will likely star the most in the altered plot.  
> Finally, this may be taken as a given considering who this fic is about, but fair warning: there is going to be a lot of talk about incest (always portrayed as Extremely Bad) and implied sexual abuse of a minor. So, basically canon except at greater length and focused upon more.

“Thaaaat’s right!” came Monokuma’s cheerful voice. “The person who killed Yonaga Angie was, in fact, Yonaga Angie!”

“IT! WAS! SHINGUUJI!” Yumeno shrieked for at least the tenth time that trial. “HE MESSED WITH THE FLOORBOARDS! HE’S THE REASON SHE FELL! YOU CAN’T BLAME IT ON HER!”

“She has a point,” said Harukawa. “Even if we believe he didn’t expect her to show up and break her neck like that, what Shinguuji did could count as manslaughter in a normal court.”

“In a normal court?” Monokuma echoed. “ _In a normal court?_ Well, TOO BAD! This isn’t one, kids! We’re a lot stricter here. In the end, it came down to her not looking where she was going. I guess you could say that she manslaughtered herself!”

“That reminds me,” Monotarou piped up. “Shouldn’t it be girlslaughter if she’s a girl? How come we never say girlslaughter?”

“I think ‘womanslaughter’ works better,” said Monofunny.

“Well, whatever! Just as long as it’s not bearslaughter!” Monotarou shivered.

Monodam said nothing.

“ _Anyway,_ ” Monokuma continued, “about that execution…”

At that word, everyone froze. What was going to happen? What _could_ happen? This had not been exposited at any point.

Yumeno stopped yelling for a moment. “Wait, if you say Angie’s killer is already dead, that means you move on to Tenko’s murder, right? So either way Shinguuji gets executed, right?!”

“Nope! I told you bastards from the beginning, the second murder doesn’t matter!”

“Th-Then who…?” Shirogane ventured.

Monokuma’s shoulders slumped. “…I dunno, actually. Eh…Monodam? ‘Cause he’s the one who ate the key and all, which is what made this ‘murder’ soooo complicated.”

“Hold on, this makes no sense whatsoever!” Kiibo exclaimed.

Monodam himself replied. “I AC-CEPT IT. I CAN-NOT BEAR TO LIVE AFTER WIT-NESS-ING SUCH A TRA-VES-TY OF JUS-TICE A-NY-WAY.”

“Awww, you said ‘bear’!” Monokuma cooed. “I’m so proud of you! Now die.”

“No!” Yumeno’s clenched fists trembled. “You’re supposed to kill Shinguuji! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO KILL SHINGUUJI!”

Shuuichi finally dared to look over at Shinguuji, but he was silent and expressionless.

“Now, let’s give it everything we’ve got! Iiiit’s PUNISHMENT TIME!”

– – –

It wasn’t until they were in the Shrine of Judgement that anyone spoke. Well, not “spoke”, exactly. More like “slammed Shinguuji Korekiyo into the wall”.

It was Momota who did it. “Okay, Shinguuji,” he snarled. “You look me in the eyes and tell me how any of us are supposed to live with you.”

“By acknowledging that we may never fully understand each other’s actions but all is justified from a certain point of view and that as humans we–“

Momota punched him in the face. “DON’T GIVE ME ANY OF THAT ANTHROPOLOGY BULLSHIT!” he roared as Shinguuji staggered back from the blow and hit his head on the wall. “YOU _KILLED_ ONE OF OUR FRIENDS!”

“I… Excuse me, I…” Shinguuji clutched his head, looking most disoriented. “What were you Saying?”

Ouma chimed in, providing a distraction and thus narrowly preventing another blow. “Wowww, this is even worse than Harukawa-chan trying to break my neck last time! He hasn’t even told us his motive yet, you know. If you keep at it he’s gonna forget it himself, and I sure can’t live with that kind of mystery!”

“Who _cares_ why he did it?” said Harukawa testily. “Is it going to make a difference? Do you really want some reason to excuse him?”

“But Gonta…would also like to know.” His voice was quiet, and he was looking down at the ground. “Why would Shinguuji-kun do that? What did Chabashira-san die for? Gonta doesn’t understand.”

“I mean… It’s not as if any reason he gives will make us forgive him, right?” Shirogane pointed out. “So we might as well know.”

“Unfortunately, I consider it a personal Matter.” Shinguuji had regained his balance and was slowly skulking along the wall towards the door.

But Momota yanked him back by the arm. “Oh no you don’t! Yeah, why _don’t_ you tell us? So I can know how hard to punch you again.”

“Please, there has already been quite enough violence!” Kiibo loudly interjected. He was ignored.

“Kindly unhand me, Momota-kun.” Shinguuji’s voice became cold. “We have been through so much today, Yes? I believe taking time to calm down would do us all Good.”

“I CAN’T TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS!” Momota shook him roughly. “Stop talking like that, stop being so goddamn… _slimy_ , and while you’re at it take that fucking mask off for once! It’s pissing me off!” He did not give Shinguuji a chance to comply of his own accord.

Dead silence fell upon the courtyard.

Iruma broke it. “That’s _it_ , you’re just wearing fuckin’ _lipstick_? What’s the point of _that_ , you freaky jackass? Who has time for this?!”

“You children have made a big mistake.” That…was not Shinguuji’s voice. Or maybe it was, but there was something seriously wrong with it. A small smile played upon his lips. “I won’t let you bully Korekiyo anymore.”

“Wh-Wha–?!” Momota turned pale and took a step back. “What the hell is this?!”

“I’m his big sister.”

The courtyard wasn’t getting any louder.

“Oh?” He tilted his head. “Is this such a surprise? You don’t know him at all, do you. You don’t know he’s the kind of boy who’d give up even his body for the one he loves.”

“Hya-ha! You’re weak!” Iruma interrupted. “Yours truly doesn’t even need to love someone to do that!”

Shinguuji’s smile was fixed in place, but his eye twitched. He did not, however, reply to this.

This was all extremely worrying. Shinguuji had obviously been hiding some things from the start, such as his mouth, but whatever Shuuichi had expected, from his mouth or from the rest of him, had not been…this. What was this? He didn’t know, but he hadn’t been expecting it. No one could have.

Just then, Harukawa turned her back on the group and headed for the courtyard door. “This is stupid. I’ve already heard enough. You got your answer: He’s just a creepy bastard.”

“Wait, Harumaki!”

With Momota’s attention diverted, Shinguuji made his move. He yanked his mask up and darted, not to the door where Harukawa was, but to the wall. He trampled the flowers in his way and scrabbled up it all in an instant. He snaked through a gap in the bars and then he was out of sight. Shuuichi heard a faint hiss of pain as he fell and then the footfalls of quick, long strides that soon faded from earshot.

Harukawa was already gone, and everyone else just stood there.

“He sure moves fast, huh,” Ouma observed.

“Gonta…still doesn’t understand his motive.”

“Of course you don’t!” Iruma scoffed. “But to this genius brain, it’s totally fuckin’ obvious!”

“Really?” Gonta asked. “What was it?”

Iruma rolled her eyes. “He wants to get out so he can go fuck his sister! Duh!”

“But I heard him say quite plainly that he _was_ his sister,” Shirogane pointed out.

“W-Well, that was just…” Iruma stalled for a moment. “…Some kinky roleplaying thing! Yeah, that’s it! God, so gross that he’d get us involved in it.”

“That does not…” Kiibo’s face was twisted into a confused frown. “…Make a lot of sense? Iruma-san?”

“It makes sense if you’re a freak like he is! I bet he–”

“JUST STOP IT ALREADY!”

Everyone shut up instantly.

“Yumeno-san…” Shuuichi began, but it turned out that he didn’t know what to say.

“Y-You’re wasting so much time talking about _him_!” Yumeno’s voice quavered at first, then became stronger. “WHO! CARES! How can you bother _thinking_ about such pointless stuff when Tenko and Angie are _dead_?”

Gonta hung his head. “…You’re right. Gonta’s sorry.”

“Yeah, we’ve wasted too much time on a guy like him!” Kaito agreed. “My bad, I was just so pissed off. I’m sorry I let ‘im get away though.”

“I’m glad he left.” Yumeno’s shoulders slumped. Her angry energy seemed to be spent already. “I’m so tired. I just want to go back to my room and sleep for the rest of my life.”

“Oh! Gonta will carry you!”

“Nnaaa, I can walk by myself.” She trudged to the door and left after a brief struggle to open it.

There was nothing to hold the group together after that. Yumeno had successfully quelled any further discussion, and somehow or other they all wound up outside the shrine and going their separate ways.

– – –

Momota and Harukawa would very likely not be training tonight, but Shuuichi was sitting on the bench in the darkened courtyard all the same. He couldn’t sleep after a case had just been left hanging like that. It hadn’t ended after the trial like it was supposed to, and that felt so wrong. What had been the point of that whole thing?

Shinguuji shouldn’t be alive. It sounded harsh, but he shouldn’t be. It was completely unfair, after Akamatsu and Toujou, for someone like him to escape justice. _He_ actually _deserved_ it. The others hadn’t. This complete reversal of justice made their situation all the bleaker. Shuuichi considered not even trying next time, because of _course_ there would be a next time. The deck was clearly stacked against them. Why not just let everyone…?

There was a rustling sound. Being as on edge as he was, Shuuichi immediately registered it. That was a human, somewhere in the bushes. So he was still out there. Shuuichi’s skin crawled, and he all of a sudden felt as if he were in a horror movie.

He practically was. This school now housed a known murderer. They were trapped here together. It was outdoors at night and the two of them were alone. …Why was Shuuichi still outside again? Why wasn’t he running to his room and slamming the door behind him?

He couldn’t remember the reason, and so he leapt up. As he opened the door to the dorms, he thought he heard someone call his name. That only made him close it faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably not the first one to do this, but I have so many specific ideas about how it would play out that I can't not. I have a couple more chapters written out that I'll post soon, but after that, be prepared for the pace to slow down drastically.


	2. Day 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things that are unchanged from the game are going to be skimmed over pretty flippantly. It's not very elegant, but it's better than writing out canon scenes verbatim in prose form.

Shuuichi did not sleep well that night. Nightmares plagued him, although when he awoke, he could not remember any of them. They were all jumbled together in a pool of negative emotions. He didn’t particularly want to leave his room. What was out there, really? More nightmares? Ones he couldn’t wake up from. Ones he’d never be able to forget.

Staying in bed was so tempting. He’d never have to see Shinguuji’s snakelike face again. He’d never have to hear his repulsively alluring voice. He’d never have to watch his elongated body creep around with silent footfalls like he was a mix between a cat and a spider. Awful. He didn’t want any of it.

But would he even be there? Would he dare to show his face this morning? With Shinguuji, it was impossible to tell. Shuuichi might as well risk it. Or, he might if there were any kind of potential payoff. Which, he reminded himself again, there wasn’t. It was all pointless, and so he decided to lie there for at least a little longer.

The sudden ringing of the doorbell didn’t let him. It was frantic and did not seem about to let up.

Shuuichi sighed in a miserable, self-pitying manner and stood up. He trudged over and reluctantly pulled the door open.

“Took you long enough!” Yumeno’s face had never looked like that before. “You’re supposed to be at breakfast by now! All of us are waiting for you!”

“…All?” Shuuichi echoed nervously. “Even…Shin–“

“ABSOLUTELY NOT! He doesn’t count! Just…come on!” Yumeno grabbed his wrist.

– – –

Gonta had found more writing on the stone outside. The bears appeared. They got items, they got a motive, Ouma ran off with it. Yumeno somehow stayed focused and energetic the whole time. _He_ wasn’t there. Nobody said his name. Shuuichi wondered if maybe he’d dreamed all of last night. Maybe he’d been executed after all. Maybe he’d boiled to death in front of everyone. He was afraid to ask, but a part of him hoped so.

They all wandered off. Time to find the new areas. Before he knew it, Shuuichi was on the fourth floor. This was not where he’d meant to go. Something had just brought him here. His stomach dropped as he eyed the door to the anthropology lab. Maybe he should go back downstairs.

No. No one _else_ would check there, he was pretty sure. What if there was something important? This was probably his duty. He swallowed his mounting anxiety and pulled the door open.

It was empty. Nothing but artifacts. Not even all the artifacts, actually. There were some missing, and not just ones used for the ritual. The sword was gone, and Shuuichi couldn’t remember what all the rest had been, but the room was definitely emptier. That felt…ominous. Especially the sword. He worried about who had taken it. If it was Shinguuji himself… No, he wouldn’t use it, would he? It was so delicate and he wouldn’t want to ruin the anthropological value or whatever. Then again, twenty-four hours ago, Shuuichi never would have expected him to ruin the anthropological value of a human life.

Chabashira… All of a sudden, he was furious. He kicked the nearby vase as hard as he could and watched it shatter. He hoped Shinguuji came back and saw that. He hoped he cried, even if it was only a fraction of the tears he’d wrung from Yumeno.

Shuuichi slammed the door when he left.

– – –

After their investigation of the school, during which Momota found the Flashback Light, everyone wound up in the dining room again. Almost everyone.

“Okay!” Yumeno said loudly. “Now we’re _just missing Ouma_.” She emphasized his name and added a hard stop at the end. “I wonder where he went?”

“Who knows?” Momota scratched his head. “Does it really matter? His fault for running off like that earlier. He could totally be here if he really wanted to.”

“We can’t use it without _everybody_ here.” Yumeno’s voice was getting even louder. “Since it’s just _one person_ , we might as well find him.”

As it turned out, they didn’t need to find him. He barged in at that very moment. “Hello! Are you guys ready?”

It took some debate, but eventually, Momota moved to press the button.

“Is this really okay?” Shuuichi asked hesitantly. “Are you sure it won’t help for Shinguuji-kun to get his memories back too?”

Yumeno gave him a deathly glare and that was answer enough.

Then, Shuuichi’s vision went pure white.

– – –

Well, that had been exhausting. Like most things lately. Now back in his room after dealing with the Flashback Light, Shuuichi realized with dread that the day wasn’t even over yet. Should he go talk with people, like he always did when he had free time? He probably should.

Again, he forced himself out the door. He couldn’t help looking over at Shinguuji’s before he went into the courtyard. Was that where he was? He had to be hiding there, right? Where else could he be? Shuuichi didn’t want to find out.

Anyone else, anyone else… Oh, there was Yumeno, standing by Chabashira’s talent lab. He was worried about her. He’d probably say something stupid, but…

“What’re you looking at?” she asked as he approached.

“Oh, um, I just wondered if you’d like to talk!”

“Such as, about plans to get out?” She was suddenly alert. “Yeah! That’s really important!”

“S-Sure.” Shuuichi was taken aback but didn’t dare suggest another topic.

They threw around ideas for a while, Yumeno largely dominating the conversation. She was violently passionate about the subject. This worried Shuuichi given the rules of the game, but she _did_ seem very invested in the others getting out too, save for the obvious.

He was left drained when the conversation was over. It was embarrassing, but maybe he should just go back to his room after all. He needed to save up energy if Momota and Harukawa were going to train.


	3. Day 2

It was easier to get up the next day, despite how sore he felt from the training. Breakfast was again dramatic. There was a lot of debating of plans before Iruma, of all people, restored order with an ominous assurance that she had something in the works.

No one quite knew what to do after that, least of all Shuuichi. He felt quite restless, and the anxiety in the back of his mind was mounting. It had been thirty-six hours. He hadn’t seen a trace of Shinguuji. Should he look for him? He really didn’t want to, but not knowing where he was beyond “in this school” was even worse.

No one else was by the dorm, much to Shuuichi’s relief. He didn’t want anyone to see him going near _that_ door. It felt strangely shameful. He looked at the stupid little pixel-portrait on it. It didn’t do Shinguuji justice at all. He could never look that cute.

It took quite some time for him to ring the doorbell. He really, _really_ didn’t feel like this. But, finally, he did.

In contrast, the door opening took no time at all. Opening a crack, at least. It didn’t go any further. The only thing visible was a single yellow, snakelike eye. Great. He’d found him already.

“Saihara-kun?” His voice was unpleasantly pleasant.

“Uh… Yeah.” Shuuichi tried not to grit his teeth too much. “I was wondering where you’d been.”

“Here,” Shinguuji replied succinctly.

Now what was Shuuichi supposed to say? Could he get away with just leaving?

“And, thank you for your Concern,” Shinguuji added suddenly. “It is most beautiful of You.”

“S-Sure.”

Shinguuji opened the door wider, exposing the rest of his sickly face. Or, the rest of the top half, rather. “You may come inside if you Wish.”

Despite the way Shinguuji worded it, Shuuichi wasn’t at all sure that he was being given a choice. Reluctantly, he nodded.

Shinguuji stepped aside and let him in. The room was just like Shuuichi’s except for the artifacts everywhere, somehow arranged both precisely and messily at the same time. They looked very out of place. Just as Shinguuji closed the door, Shuuichi noticed that the katana was among them. He had just walked into a small room with an armed murderer, and no one knew he was there. He was an idiot.

“You’ve got a lot of stuff in here,” he said weakly.

“Yes. I retrieved my most treasured items from my talent lab the night of the Trial. I feel more secure with them Here.”

Shuuichi would have felt a lot more secure with them _not_ , but he couldn’t say that. “So, aside from that, you’ve been in here the whole time?”

“I did return to my lab last Night.” Shinguuji sat down on his bed. “Did you know what one of my artifacts has been Destroyed?”

Shuuichi froze.

“Yumeno-san’s doing, I am Sure. As wonderful a woman as she is, I anticipated that she may turn to Violence. That is another reason why I took all of These.” He gestured around the room.

“I-Is that so?” Shuuichi managed softly, although his blood was boiling. How dare he? He had to blame Yumeno? He really believed she’d done it. Shuuichi couldn’t stand that. He should tell the truth. He should. He _had_ to.

But his mouth was dry and the words wouldn’t come out. He was scared. Shinguuji was terrifying and he had a sword. He couldn’t incriminate himself in front of him. It went against all his survival instincts. He wasn’t even that interested in not dying, and setting Shinguuji up to be executed sounded ideal, but fear gripped him all the same. Who knew what else he was capable of other than murder? Shuuichi was such a coward. Momota would be furious if he knew what was happening in this room, but even that realization wasn’t enough to galvanize him.

“Kukuku… I suppose you are still curious as to my Motive.”

Actually, Shuuichi didn’t care in the least right then, but he said “Well, maybe a little…” anyway.

“Then I suppose I shall tell You.” Shinguuji looked at the floor. “Even if you do not understand, there is now little that can worsen your opinion of Me.”

Shuuichi couldn’t disagree.

“You see,” Shinguuji began, “I am very close with my Sister.”

One sentence in and this was already going downhill.

“I have spoken to you before of her and of my Lover. They are, in fact, one and the Same.”

At some level Shuuichi had suspected this, but he still really wished it hadn’t been confirmed.

“Alas,” –and here Shinguuji’s voice trembled– “she passed away two years Ago.”

Oh no. Oh no. Shuuichi rapidly tried to fit this information in with what he already knew, and all the results were upsetting. He felt like he needed to say something. “That…must have been hard. How old was she?”

“Twenty-two.”

Yeah. Okay. That explained a lot of things about Shinguuji.

“However…” Shinguuji wrapped his arms around himself, seemingly as a reflex. “I found her Again. The barrier between life and death is not as impenetrable as many Think. That is how you and the others were able to…meet Her. Which was considerably distressing, I might Add. She does not like to associate with anyone we do not trust Fully.”

“…Sorry,” Shuuichi muttered. He was less sorry for Shinguuji and more sorry they’d all had to see that. “That was, um, terrible.”

“Ah, your sympathy is Beautiful…” Shinguuji said. “I do appreciate It. Kukuku… I wonder if it will Last…”

Shuuichi just looked at him, all the possibilities as to how this could get even worse racing through his mind. Did Shinguuji keep his sister’s corpse in this room? Had he been the one to kill her? What other horror clichés could he be living up to? Was he a seri–

Shinguuji interrupted his train of thought to say “You are surely wondering what this has to do with Chabashira-san. It is this: Nee-san had no friends when she was Alive. All she had was me, but try as I might, I was able to fill only two roles in her Life. She needed more than I could give at the Time. As such, I am making it up to Her. If, over the course of my remaining life, I select 100 young women worthy of her friendship and send them to her, she will finally be Happy.” He paused.

Shuuichi mentally updated the situation. He was in a small room with an armed _serial killer_ , and no one knew he was there. This was just great.

Silence hung in the air for far too long. Shuuichi wanted to scream.

Finally, Shinguuji spoke again, quietly. “Are you judging me, Saihara-kun?”

“Uhhhh…”

“Kukuku.”

“N-No, I’m…” Shuuichi managed. “I’m…I guess it makes sense?” Suddenly, he was gripped with fear of being “silenced” after knowing something like this. “I’m not going to tell anyone!”

Shinguuji looked down at his hands and adjusted the wrappings. “I am touched by your efforts, but not Deceived. Feel free to say that you are afraid of Me. It is quite all Right.”

All Shuuichi could do was laugh nervously. He wanted out of here. He wanted out of here so badly.

Shinguuji, usually so ironically oblivious to the feelings of the humans around him, miraculously read his mind again. “You may Go.” He gestured at the door.

Shuuichi had never expected to be so happy to hear anything come out of that mouth. He went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All caught up on what I wrote before starting to post this now... Look forward to very long gaps between updates.


End file.
